Oil and water-base lubricant: that, as to improvements in oil and water-base lubricants

ABSTRACT

Use of glycol, tallow and tall oil esters in a mineral oil base lubricant which can be emulsified and used to produce a waterbase lubricant useful in metal drawing and ironing operations.

llited States Patent Sawyer [15] 3,657,126 [451 Apr. 1,1972

[54] OIL AND WATER-BASE LUBRICANT:

THAT, AS TO IMPROVEMENTS IN OIL AND WATER-BASE LUBRICANTS [72] Inventor: David W. Sawyer, Oakmont, Pa.

[73] Assignee: Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pa.

[22] Filed: Apr. 17, 1970 [21] App1.No.: 29,641

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 781,271, Dec. 4,

1968, abandoned.

[52] U.S. Cl. ..252/49.5, 252/56 R 51 1nt.Cl. ..C10ml/26 [58] Field of Search ..252/56 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,690,426 9/1964 Jefi'erson et a1. ..252/56 R X 2,210,140 8/1940 Colbeth ..252/56 R X 2,590,451 3/1952 Perry ..252/56 R X 2,580,036 12/1951 Matuszak et a1. ..252/56 R X 3,130,159 4/1964 Stedt ..252/56 R X 3,071,544 1/1963 Rue.... .252/49.5 X 3,298,954 1/1967 Brown .....252/49.5 3,390,084 6/1968 Lake ..252/49.3 X

Primary Examiner-Daniel E. Wyman Assistant Examiner-W. Cannon Att0rney-Abram W. Hatcher [57] ABSTRACT Use of glycol, tallow and tall oi] esters in a mineral oil base lubricant which can be emulsified and used to produce a water-base lubricant useful in metal drawing and ironing operations.

11 Claims, No Drawings OIL AND WATER-BASE LUBRICANT: THAT, AS TO IMPROVEMENTS IN OIL AND WATER-BASE LUBRICANTS This is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 78 l ,271, filed Dec. 4, 1968 now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an oil and water-base lubricant. More particularly, it relates to a lubricant emulsifiable in and dilutable with water, said lubricant being highly useful in drawing and ironing operations as well as in spinning and surfacing.

Despite the general availability of many organic acid and ester-containing metal-working lubricants for use in such individual operations as spinning and surfacing or drawing and ironing it has been difficult to date to find a single lubricant which can be used in more than one of these conventional operations at a time, that is, a real multi-purpose metal-working lubricant. One reason for this is that many lubricant components are easily miscible in oil but not in water or vice versa, limiting them to use in either oil-base or water-base lubricants but not both. Furthermore, the complications of drawing and surfacing a shallow metal shell, such as an aluminum saucepan, for example, are quite different from those of drawing and ironing or drawing, redrawing and sizing a deep can such as an all-aluminum or aluminum alloy beverage can to obtain a sidewall of uniform thickness. Furthermore, obtaining a lubricant which will operate successfully over a wide range of pad pressures and alloy tempers is quite a formidable challenge. Few known lubricant components are highly miscible in an oil such as mineral oil to form an oil-base lubricant and at the same time miscible with oil in such a way that the resulting lubricant, simply by incorporation of an emulsifying agent, can be cut or diluted with water so as to also form a water-base lubricant. In drawing and ironing blanks into cans it is also desirable to have a lubricant cuttable with water so as to promote removal of residual lubricant from the cans. Production of such a multi-purpose oil and water-base lubricant as described hereinabove therefore represents a highly desirable result.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a novel oil and water-base lubricant. Another object is to provide an oil-base lubricant useful in metal drawing and finishing operations and also emulsifiable in water so as to become further useful in drawing and ironing beverage cans and the like. Further objects will be apparent from the description and claims which follow.

In its broader aspects my invention involves blending glycol, tallow or tall oil esters with mineral oil. Most useful of the glycol esters according to my invention are the propylene and ethylene glycol esters, particularly the tripropylene and triethylene glycol esters. Preferred of this group are the polymeric esters, especially polymeric mixed diesters of propylene, dipropylene or tripropylene or of ethylene, diethylene or triethylene glycol (the triethylene glycol mixed diesters being most suitable) having 1 to carbons in the acid radicals. A generic formula representing the triethylene and tripropylene glycol mixed diesters is RCOO(CH ),,0(CH

),,0OCR' WHEREIN R and R are different alkyl groups each having 1 to 9 carbons and n is 2 or 3. Representative mixed diesters of this formula are tripropylene glycol caprylate caprate, triethylene glycol caprylate caprate, triethylene glycol butyrate caprylate and tripropylene glycol propionate caproate, which respectively have the following formulas:

Especially useful of the tallow and tall oil esters are the methyl esters of tallow fatty acids and the polyhydric alcohol esters of tall oil acids.

If desired, by using an appropriate conventional emulsifying agent, the resulting oil-base lubricant may be diluted with water to form a water-base lubricant or may be made thereby readily removable with water from metal parts on which it is used or within which it may come in contact as a lubricant.

The preferred amount of the ester when used in mineral oil is from one-quarter to 10 percent by weight. The mineral oil preferably has a viscosity of 175-250 SSH/100 F. The addition of 0.5-5 percent, preferably l-3 percent by weight, of an emulsifying agent makes the lubricant miscible with water upon dilution with up to 30 parts thereof in parts by weight.

Suitable emulsifying agents useful in aiding emulsification of the ester-in-oil lubricant of my invention to form an oil-inwater lubricant include polyoxyalkylene oxide condensates, for example, those obtained by condensation of ethylene oxide with crude tall oil fatty acids, stearic or oleic acid or the like, a sorbitan ester or polyoxyalkylene sorbitan ester such as sorbitan monopleate or polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate. A particularly useful emulsifier in this instance is polyethylene (4)lauryl ether.

An antifoam agent may be incorporated in the water-extended lubricant, if desired. Also, a small amount of a rust inhibitor such as a petroleum sulfonate may be used.

The following examples are illustrative of my invention.

EXAMPLE 1 A mixture of 10 percent by weight of an ester made up of about 92.5 mole percent tripropylene glycol mixed diester of caprylic and capric acids (Procter and Gamble Lastichem RP-l) and percent mineral oil of a 175-250 SSU/ F. viscosity was used as lubricant in the outside finishing (also called brite spin) of 4,082 three-quart saucepans drawn from 0.040-inch 5005-0 aluminum alloy. The lubricant was sprayed onto the metal workpiece (saucepan) and the finishing perfomred by a spinning operation.

EXAMPLE 2 1,368 three-quart saucepans were outside-finished as in Example except that 5 percent by weight instead of 10 percent by weight of the same ester was used in the lubricant.

EXAMPLE 3 The lubricant of Example 1 was used in producing 800 three-quart aluminum saucepans by a drawing operation in which the lubricant was applied to the metal by passing through rolls (that is, by rolling it on the metal) prior to blanking and then drawing.

EXAMPLE 4 A mixture of 10 percent glycol and methyl ester of tallow fatty acid (Chemol Methyl Ester of Tallow Fatty Acid, and 90 percent mineral oil (SSU -250/ 100 F.) was sprayed onto the pans in outside-finishing several hundred four-quart aluminum saucepans as in Example 1.

EXAMPLE 5 Two-quart aluminum saucepans were drawn as in Example 3 using as lubricant concentrations of one-half and 1 percent by weight tripropylene glycol caprylate caprate (Lastichem RP-l about 92.5 mole percent) in mineral oil of an SSU/l 00 F. viscosity of 175-250. These saucepans were finished on the outside by spinning with lubricant concentrations of 2% and 5 C H, COOCH CH,CH OCH CH CH OCH CH CH OOCC 70 percent by weight of the same ester in a similar mineral oil the inside finishing the lubricant was misted onto the emery wheels which accomplished the grinding.

EXAMPLE 6 A mixture of one-half percent by weight of the ester of Examples 1-3 and 5 in mineral oil having a 175-250 SSU/ 100 F. viscosity was used as lubricant in the initial drawing operation used in production of beer cans made of several different aluminum alloys. The lubricant was applied to the metal blanks from rolls before drawing.

EXAMPLE 7 One part of a mixture of one-half percent of the ester of Examples l-3, 5 and 6, 2 percent polyethylene (4) lauryl ether (Atlas Chemical Industries Brij 30) and 97 /2 percent mineral oil (175-250 SSU/100 F.) was emulsified by dilution and mixing with two parts of water. This lubricant was applied from rolls to the workpieces (blanks) in making aluminum beer cans by an operation which included drawing, redrawing and sizing by ironing the sidewall to a uniform thickness by means of a single ring. More of this lubricant was sprayed on the workpiece as it went through the ironing ring. Addition of a small amount of antifoam agent (General Electric Company Antifoam 60) was found helpful. Use of this lubricant permitted operation over a wider range of pad pressures and alloy tempers than with conventional lubricants which were similarly used. Use of up to 30 parts by weight water per part of the above-described mixture proved successful in the foregoing operation.

EXAMPLE 8 The following neat oil mixture was cut back with about 5 parts of water and used in producing a number of aluminum beer cans by drawing and ironing. The lubricant was rolled onto the metal prior to the drawing operation and sprayed onto the workpieces as they went through the ironing rings in the ironing operation.

Percent Component by Weight Polyhydric alcohol ester of tall oil acids 05 (Hercules lnc. Resin 5-1582) Polyethylene (4) lauryl ether 20 (Atlas Brij 30) Mineral oil (175-250 SSU/l F.) 97.5

EXAMPLE 9 Ironing tests (in preparing aluminum beer cans) were carried out successfully using as lubricant a mixture of 0.5 percent of the ester of Examples l-3, 5, 6 and 7, 2 percent polyethylene (4) lauryl ether, 0.1 percent petroleum sulfonate (Sonnebom Dipetronate L) and 97.4 percent mineral oil (175-250 SSU/ F.) cut with up to 4 parts of water. As in Example 8 the lubricant was sprayed on the workpieces as they went through the ironing ring.

While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, the claims appended hereto are intended to encompass all embodiments which fall within the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention and certain preferred embodiments thereof, I claim:

1. As a metal-working lubricant, a dispersion in mineral oil of lubrication improving amounts of at least one C -C aliphatic carboxylic acid glycol diester the glycol member of which is selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, diethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, triethylene glycol and tripropylene glycol.

2. The dispersion of claim 1 wherein the glycol diester is a mixed diester of tripropylene or triethylene glycol.

3. The dispersion of claim 1 wherein the glycol diester is tripropylene glycol caprylate caprate or triethylene glycol cagryllzlalte caprate.

e dispersion of claim 1 wherein the glycol diester has the formula RCCO(CH O(CH ),,O(CH ),,OOCR' wherein R and R are different alkyl groups each having 1 to 9 carbons and n is 2 or 3.

5. The dispersion of claim 4 wherein the glycol diester is tripropylene glycol caprylate caprate, triethylene glycol caprylate caprate, triethylene glycol butyrate caprylate or tripropylene glycol propionate caproate.

6. The dispersion of claim 1 wherein the diester amounts to one-quarter to 10 percent by weight and the balance is mineral oil.

7. The dispersion of claim 1 wherein the mineral oil has a viscosity of -250 SSU at 100 F.

8. The dispersion of claim 1 containing 0.5-5 percent by weight emulsifying agent.

9. The dispersion of claim 8 in the amount of 1 part cut with up to about 30 parts by weight of water.

10. In a metal-working process, the improvement which comprises applying to a workpiece as a metal-working lubricant a dispersion in mineral oil of lubrication improving amounts of at least one C C aliphatic carboxylic acid glycol diester the glycol member of which is selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, diethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, triethylene glycol and tripropylene glycol.

11. The improvement of claim 10 wherein the mixture contains 0.5-5 percent by weight emulsifying agent and an amount of one part of the dispersion containing said emulsifying agent is cut with up to about 30 parts by weight of water. 

2. The dispersion of claim 1 wherein the glycol diester is a mixed diester of tripropylene or triethylene glycol.
 3. The dispersion of claim 1 wherein the glycol diester is tripropylene glycol caprylate caprate or triethylene glycol caprylate caprate.
 4. The dispersion of claim 1 wherein the glycol diester has the formula RCOO(CH2)nO(CH2)nO(CH2)nOOCR'' wherein R and R'' are different alkyl groups each having 1 to 9 carbons and n is 2 or
 3. 5. The dispersion of claim 4 wherein the glycol diester is tripropylene glycol caprylate caprate, triethylene glycol caprylate caprate, triethylene glycol butyrate caprylate or tripropylene glycol propionate caproate.
 6. The dispersion of claim 1 wherein the diester amounts to one-quarter to 10 percent by weight and the balance is mineral oil.
 7. The dispersion of claim 1 wherein the mineral oil has a viscosity of 175-250 SSU at 100* F.
 8. The dispersion of claim 1 containing 0.5-5 percent by weight emulsifying agent.
 9. The dispersion of claim 8 in the amount of 1 part cut with up to about 30 parts by weight of water.
 10. In a metal-working process, the improvement which comprises applying to a workpiece as a metal-working lubricant a dispersion in mineral oil of lubrication improving amounts of at least one C1-C10 aliphatic carboxylic acid glycol diester the glycol member of which is selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, diethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, triethylene glycol and tripropylene glycol.
 11. The improvement of claim 10 wherein the mixture contains 0.5-5 percent by weight emulsifying agent and an amount of one part of the dispersion containing said emulsifying agent is cut with up to about 30 parts by weight of water. 